ESSEX COUNTY, NJ - On Thursday, the Newark Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that four Bloods street gang members were indicated by a federal grand jury on charges of murder, attempted murder, racketeering, robbery, weapons offenses and drug distribution. The four men, all of Newark, are allegedly members of the Blood's subgroup, found primarily in Essex County, called "Sex Money Murder."

According to the FBI, beginning in 2007, Sex Money Murder controlled the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine in the area surrounding Martin Luther King Boulevard and Spruce Street in Newark and amassed firearms in the same neighborhoods. The gang is made up of friends and family members who join at a young age and and mark themselves with SMM tattoos. They follow the typical Bloods governing rules and hierarchical power structures and mark their territory with SMM gang symbols.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced that the men were charged in a 14-count superseding indictment in connection with their alleged Sex Money Murder gang activities. The four indicted men and their charges are:

Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering20 years in prison; $250,000 fine

Conspiracy to use a firearm during a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime conspiracy20 years in prison; $250,000 fine

Attempted murder in aid of racketeering10 years in prison; $250,000 fine

Rajohn “1090” Wilson, 23

RacketeeringLife in prison (death eligible); $250,000 fine

Racketeering conspiracyLife in prison; $250,000 fine

Conspiracy to use a firearm during a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime conspiracy20 years in prison; $250,000 fine

“The offenses charged in today’s indictment are a checklist of the activities associated with a violent street gang that has plagued Newark for years,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Illegal guns, violent assaults, murder – members of this gang allegedly used all of them to maintain control over the illicit drug trafficking that is the lifeblood of their criminal enterprise. Today’s charges call them to account for these crimes.”

All four men are already in custody on related charges and are expected to appear in Newark federal court on a date still to be determined. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, under the leadership of Wilson, the four gang members allegedly engaged in a wide range of violent criminal activity in order to deal drugs, silence those that they considered police informants and intimidate rival gangs. According to the FBI, these acts included numerous murders, shootings, robberies and auto thefts.

July 31, 2011Laquan Reed and others allegedly murdered an individual, "Victim 9,” while attempting to carjack the victim’s vehicle

Other members of Sex Money Murder are currently serving prison sentences in state and federal prison for gang-related crimes. The investigation into the criminal activities of Sex Money Murder was a combined effort of the following members of federal and local law enforcement:

Special agents of the FBI and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray

The Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando V. Fontoura

The Newark Police Department

Special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski

Special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stephanie R. Shoemaker

“Drug dealing, illegal weapons and gang violencedestroy the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, Newark Division. “The charges in this indictment should reassure the residents of Newark and New Jersey that we will continue to aggressively address gang violence through increased investigative strategies and a multi-agency approach.”

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael H. Robertson and Dara Govan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.